Student loans and the welfare state would be attempts to ape that boom. But without the chocolate of pent up demand and the peanut butter of low inflation and rising wages, it didn’t happen. We got Vietnam, the Oil Crisis, Stagflation and the decline of America’s military.

The 1950’s weren’t perfect, but they were far from the “hellhole” Hollywood wants you to believe. It was the boom of the 50’s that provided the money for the mooching hippies, beatniks and the liberals that followed.

I admit that I am a Cold War baby. I was born in the 70’s, my father worked as a defense contractor. He met my mother when he was in the Air Force.

But what has the military done for the rest of us?

The very existence of this Wiki was made possible via the US Department of Defense wanting to create a way for people to gain access to powerful research computers they were geographically separated from—for both purely scientific/academic and military projects. Incidentally, it also protected the flow of information between military installations from attacks (up to and including nuclear weapons). This is what became the Internet. (The World Wide Web and the hypertext system, while still vital, was a civilian thing)

Your sat-nav. NAVSTAR GPS, developed for the US military and made available for public use after the KAL 007 shoot-down.

Supersonic flight—first done by the US Air Force.

The Moon Landings—military-trained pilots. Of the 12 men to walk on the Moon, only one (Harrison Schmidt) had never been a member of the US Armed Forces. Of the remaining 11, only the first (Neil Armstrong) was directly employed by NASA: Armstrong was a retired Navy test pilot, while the remaining 10 were still active-duty Air Force and Navy pilots (4 Air Force, 6 Navy).

US Space Exploration in general—the Titan space launchers were originally for Superior Firepower.

Antibiotics. In order to keep troops healthy, the US Military developed a way to mass produce penicillin in World War II to ensure every soldier would have access to some.

Nylon—originally created for parachutes. Or rather, originally created for women’s stockings, which used the silk needed for parachutes at the beginning of World War II; old stockings were turned into parachutes. And then they ran out of old silk stockings and started making the parachutes out of old nylon stockings and whatever other nylon they could get their hands on. Women held stocking drives to support the war effort.

Duct tape—originally created as a waterproof packing tape for supply crates being carried ashore in amphibious landings. In the military duct tape is colored olive drab instead of silver, and nicknamed “mile a minute tape” or “ninety mile an hour tape.”

In response to large natural disasters around the world, when the US sends aid, the first responders are usually the military, who have the logistical capacity to quickly move a lot of supplies and medical personnel, often to territory that doesn’t lend itself easily to conventional civilian transportation due to limitations of local infrastructure (pre-existing limitations or those caused by the disasters themselves). Entire naval battle groups have been rerouted to provide aid, occasionally even as the disaster is in progress.On the internet an anecdote exists of a supposed conference listing some of the capabilities of aircraft carriers in disaster situations, including on-board hospitals, cafeterias designed to feed thousands and the ability to both provide electricity to shore based facilities, and provide a landing point for rescue aircraft.

…

One of the benefits of joining the US military since WWII is having your college paid for by the Montgomery GI bill. One can also get a scholarship by joining the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps, essentially a college level cadet program that leads into a military career as an officer). In addition, each service offers the ability to gain college credit, and in some cases having a degree is a requirement for promotion even for the enlisted. In America joining the military to get an education is a fairly common motivation, helping to make the military an institution of society in many parts of the US.

“There is no National Defense Service Medal for veterans of the Cold War. What were America’s GIs up to? They went on alert when Egypt claimed the Suez Canal in 1956. They manned missile silos in North Dakota and piloted B-52s aimed at Soviet targets. They crewed nuclear-armed submarines and drove tanks in the Fulda Gap between West and East Germany. Some of what they did is still secret.”
–“A Cold Shoulder for Cold-War Vets“, By BARRY NEWMAN, WSJ.com (via XBradTC)

In 2010, the United States government spent more on national defense ($738.8 billion) than it did
at the height of the Cold War spending in 1986 ($572 billion), when the U.S. was competing in
an arms race against the then superpower U.S.S.R.
…
Once the U.S. embarked upon the path of permanent war, starting with World War II, the result was a permanent war economy. The permanent war economy continuously draws resources into the military sector at the expense of the private economy, even in times of peace. We explore the overlooked costs of this process. The permanent war economy does not just transfer resources from the private economy, but also distorts and undermines the market process which is ultimately responsible for improvements in standards of living.

What? What technology has been suppressed? What has been held back?

Let’s look at the budget:

Yea, less than a quarter even if you add in the “generous” pensions vets get from the Dept. Of Veterans Affairs. Here, here, here and here I destroy the left’s favorite arguments about the military:

What we have here is a failure to adjust for inflation. “1986 ($572 billion)” becomes 1,2 trillion in 2012. 2010’s $738.8 billion becomes $349.9 billion in 1986 dollars. The military is smaller and cheaper than during the cold war.

I suspect that the left hates the military and some want to side with our enemies. The only country that had a military-industrial complex that broke it was the former USSR. A command economy sucks because it has to choose guns over butter. Like North Korea:

North Korea fights global warming!

The “report” from Thomas K. Duncan and Christopher J. Coyne i long on sweeping lefty generalizations and short of specifics(And if TvTropes can call out their bullcrap…). The “military-industrial” complex was a term Eisenhower(R) used to refer to Kennedy(D) and his fear that Kennedy would spend more on defense. Then Vietnam happened under LBJ, man walked on the moon and the DoD had huge growth. I’m stationed on an air base expanded and built upon during the Kennedy era.

I sense bad things for those of us in the service, since this is catnip to the left.

The Artist is a liar. Most of them promise more than they can deliver. The myth of “fairness”, that America is hostile to people who aren’t rich & white. Some pastors may “damn” America as some professors lie to their students, but main street still believes in the land of the free.

If the GOP is so in love with being in power that they are putting candidates who are no better than the Democrats, they need to go. Have we not learned from the Randy Cunningham scandals? From Jerry Fallwell? That Todd Akin is a flaming moron?

We will rebuild. You, leftie thinking “four more years of free stuff”, you own this mess. You drove us off the fiscal cliff.

First Detroit, then California, New York (almost) and now the party itself:

The official Federal Election Committee reports for September are out, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s DNC is a complete wreck. The Democrats ended September with cash on hand of $4.6 million, compared to the Republican National Committee’s $82.6 million.

It’s always someone else’s problem. New York was “ungovernable” in the 60’s, 70’s and the 80’s. Detroit lost the autoindustry etc. The common factor was liberals in charge.

Voters put them in office on a platform of “share the wealth” and “stick it to the rich/stand up for the little guy”. The truth is that liberals/Democrats don’t care about the little guy. Corporate cronyism (Like the Hollywood Tax Cuts and loans to failing “green” companies), bad regulations and high taxes drove many cities and now at least one state into a state of shock. It’s not surprising that the Democratic Party is in bad shape financially. You can’t party like a rock star and not pay for it.

If the left loses in November expect the usual suspects to get the blame. Oh the Tea Party and it’s billionaire friends (never mind that many billlionares sent money to the DNC). Foxnews manipulated the public (never mind that cable news and most traditional media’s veiewership is down). Somehow Bush will get some blame.

It’s telling that Newsweek magazine, who said “We’re all Socialists Now” will cease it’s print edition in the new year. The liberal mouthpiece is so unloved that it will share the internet with the very right wing blogs the MSM once derided.

In a perfect world the Democratic part would fade into history, replaced by some new party. They would join the Green Party, the American Communist Party and other groups on the fringe of American politics. That won’t happen for a long time, despite having the left wing lunatics running the asylum. But this should sober up many on the left. Their class warfare socialism message is for sale, but no one’s buying.

As so it beings. The left is losing it’s mind as it’s confronted with reality. Maybe the voters are tired of not having jobs. Maybe the fading “Hope and Change” posters just aren’t enough.

There will be anger and protests. The “unbiased” media will stay in the tank for the left. There will be shitty movies and stupid actors.

Don’t panic! The key is for conservatives (the real reality based community) to stay on message. Let the lefties dress up in stupid costumes, parade fake veterans and riot. We have a party and a ticket that will fix what’s wrong. But we have to vote them into office. The left is good at shrieking when it can’t get it’s way. We need to be better than that. Gaffes will happen, it’s still a long way to November. But we have a candidate, a plan and a platform.

The left has it’s dog whistles. They bitterly cling to Bush, even though he’s been out of office for 3 1/2 years.

Notice:

This site is in no way affiliated with the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Fort Bliss, White Sands Missile Range, or any other government agency. Nothing said herein should be considered to have any official sanction by those agencies.
You Mileage may vary, dates in calender are closer than they appear.